8/7/11 Dunkin KnobGeorge Washington National ForestLuray, Virginia

I spent a three-day weekend camping and hiking in Shenandoah National Park and hiked Dunkin Knob on my way home Sunday. The sky was clear, but it was hot and humid and this was a difficult hike.

I started at the Gap Creek Trail trailhead parking area off of Crisman Hollow Road in the GWNF. The trail follows an ATV loop to a large camp site and then goes across a bridge behind the campsite. From there the trail doesn't mess around, it goes up. Straight up. It goes up 1,400' in 1.4 miles, to be exact.

I followed the blue-blazed Gap Creek Trail up and up, wishing there were more switchbacks. By the time I reached the Peach Orchard Gap, 1.2 miles from the start of the hike, I was breathing heavy and drenched in sweat.

At Peach Orchard Gap there is a large campsite with a huge stone fire ring and several tree trunks around it as benches. I sat and had a Cliff Bar and two bottles of water before continuing.

The Dunkin Knob Trail is blazed white and it intersects the Gap Creek Trail at the campsite at Peach Orchard Gap. The Dunkin Knob Trail starts out uphill but quickly levels off for a few hundred feet. It goes through a small wooded section and then ends at a large talus field. The remainder of the hike is a scramble up the talus to the summit. From here there is no real trail so I just climbed up. I did find a few rocks that had reflectors epoxied onto them.

From the talus slope and the summit there are some great views. There is also a 22" round grill grate hidden next to a large boulder at the summit. The next time I go up there I'm bringing a steak to enjoy with the view. There is a geocache at the summit also - GC18TB2 Dunkin Knob Cache.

After finding the cache and enjoying the view for a while longer, I hiked down the mountain and back to my vehicle. The hike down burned my quads as well as the hike up burned my calves. This hike is short, but it has amazing views, a fun talus scramble, and gives a great workout.